His Warrior Queen: A Haikyuu!! Novel (Tsukishima x OC)

Chapter 1: She Was the Queen

"Finally...I thought we'd never get out of the gym today..."

"Oh man...I know...I swear if Hayami-san had called for one more receiving drill I was so gonna..."

"Ugh...volleyball makes me hungry..."

"Naka-chan...where are you going?"

The sound of my shoes crunching against the gravel in the road as I started jogging across the street to the market.

"I'm just gonna run over and grab some snacks...anybody want..."

"NAKANO!! LOOK..."

The engine roar.

The squeal of the tires.

The bright lights...and everything goes white...

Nakano sat bolt upright in bed, sweat pouring off her body as she cried out in fear, gasping for breath.  The damn dream again.  

It was the third time in two weeks she'd been jarred awake by this nightmare.  And each time, it progressed further.  This time, she saw the lights.  Nakano rubbed her eyes, trying to force away the afterimage that seemed to linger even though the lights had only been in her head.

She knew what this meant.  She knew it was getting worse.  She gasped for air, trying to still her pounding heart.  Damn, she thought, why the hell is this happening now?  Barely one month into my first year of high school and already I have to deal with this crap.  She focused her attention on her breathing, trying to calm herself.  It's just the pressure of dealing with a new school, a new environment, she told herself, it will resolve itself once I've settled in.

Bullshit, she thought.

The door to her bedroom opened softly.  "Naka-chan?  Are you alright?"

Nakano sighed.  "Yeah, onee-san, I'm okay.  Just...just a bad dream."

Her sister sat beside her on the bed, her worried look obvious even in the dim light.  "The same..."

"Yes, Amalie, the same one," Nakano said, a little annoyed. "It's nothing you can do anything about, okay?  It's happened before, it will happen again.  I got this.  I'll be fine."

"Naka-chan, hey, I know this..."

"No, Ama, you don't.  You don't know.  You can't know.  So please stop, okay?"  Nakano lay back down on her bed.  "Just let me get back to sleep, alright?  I've got a long session tomorrow and I need to rest."

Amalie sighed.  Her sister was right in one way...she really couldn't understand Nakano and what she was going through sometimes.  But one thing she did know.  This wasn't just about the accident.  This was also about volleyball.  And she knew that if they couldn't find a way for Nakano to continue improving, her sister would fall apart again.

"Look, kiddo, I may not know everything, but I know when you're stuck," Amalie said, shaking her sister slightly to make her open her eyes, "I've seen it before, you know?  I know you know it too, so quit pretending there's nothing anyone can do to help!"

Nakano sat up again, her blue eyes sharp and angry.  "How are you going to help me, nee-san?  You don't play and neither does mom.  Don't get me wrong...I'm grateful for everything you guys have done...but...but..." Nakano struggled to keep herself from yelling. "It's not enough anymore!  I'm not improving!  I can't get better if I can't work with people who really know how to play!  And where am I going to find people willing to deal with me, huh?  It's not like I have anything to offer them in return."  Nakano looked away, her eyes beginning to fill with tears. Dammit, she thought, I hate this. So frigging weak.